Triple Talaq Bill Cleared In Rajya Sabha: India Makes the Islamic Practice Of Instant Divorce A Crime

By
Shrinag
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triple talaq bill

History was created as the triple talaq bill was cleared in Rajya Sabha. Despite some parties including Nitish Kumar’s group opposing the law humanity won after all. The absence of AIADMK party that decided to abstain from voting brought down the effective strength of 240-member Rajya Sabha thereby indirectly helping the passing of the bill. 

99 Members Vote In Support Of Law

The opposition demanded that the bill should be sent to the select committee. However, the demand was rejected with 84 members voting in its favor against 100 members. 99 members supported the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha. As the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad came out of the Parliament he showed the sign of victory and said, “Today is a historic day. Both the Houses have given justice to Muslim women. This is the beginning of a transforming India.” 

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The ban on instant triple talaq has always been on the priority list for the NDA government and is already in force through an ordinance. Violation of the law will lead to three years in jail.

triple talaq bill

It is the first bill introduced by the NDA government after returning back to power. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill was brought in the parliament around 19 months ago. But it failed to pass because of opposition in the Rajya Sabha where NDA did not have a majority. 

Although this time along NDA was still short of a majority, the depleted strength of opposition in the parliament and persuasion by BJP-led government to friendly parties to either abstain from voting or back the bill made all the difference.

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History Is Made Despite Strong Opposition 

At the start of the debate, Bashishtha Narain Singh of the Janata Dal-United strongly opposed  the bill and decided to stay away from the discussion saying, “Hum iss ka bahishkar karte hain (We boycott this bill).” His party has six members.

Even AIADMK was strongly against the bill. The floor leader of AIADMK in Rajya Sabha, A Navaneethakrishnan demanded that the triple talaq bill should be sent to a select committee in the House. He said that his party was against the bill and walked out during voting. 

This brought down the majority mark of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha clearing way for the passing of triple talaq bill. Biju Janata Dal of Naveen Patnaik supported the bill. While initiating the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Cabinet Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “This is a question of justice for women and their empowerment… This is a matter of gender justice, dignity and equality.” With more than 20 Islamic nations across the world regulating triple talaq, India still has a long way and accept this new change as many still consider criminalizing the bill as destructive. 

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Twitterati Reacts:

https://twitter.com/iJDsaab/status/1156208923986149376

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